by Thomas Green
On the way, Luna turned to her inner spirit. Wolfie, why am I in so much pain?
‘How would I know?’
I remember my regeneration always fixed me until nothing hurt, but now I am sore while I’m not backlashing.
‘I don’t know how the regeneration works for the host.’
They put her into the hammock, face down. Daniel ran his hands by her back. “You pulled more than a few muscles, including all by your spine.”
What’s a pulled muscle?
‘Beats me.’
“Mind if I help that?” Daniel asked.
She didn’t.
“This will help,” Nancy added and handed him a small jar. They removed the upper half of the uniform while Nancy rubbed an oily gel onto her.
Daniel put his hands by her spine, digging the thumbs into her muscles, moving them up in circular motions, sending pleasant heat through Luna’s body. She had to bite her cheek not to moan as he massaged her to sleep.
12
Zerae
As fresh sea breeze stroke Zerae Hellwind’s cheeks, she gazed at the camp the Sil Haen had finished building on the hillside, a small forest of scattered tents surrounded by a joke of a barricade. If they didn’t steal a shipment of tents from the army of Alexandria a year ago, they wouldn’t have had even those. Pathetic.
Leena stepped to her side. “Four thousand Sil Haen from all three clans. This is the largest force we have ever deployed.”
Zerae sighed. Four thousand lives, almost a third of their entire civilization, ready to be sacrificed for her mother’s dream of finding their Goddess. An impossible goal. Zerae wished she had a way to save them all, to get them out of this. She didn’t, and even her plan to establish a safe haven for the captured and wounded was far from complete. “Yeah… great.”
Astril hugged Zerae from behind. “Don’t worry… you made a good plan so all will be fine.”
She made a four out of ten plan. That she succeeded in the first step changed nothing about how inept it was. “Time to go to work.” She tossed aside the burnt cigar and descended the hillside to enter the headquarters, which was already full.
The leader of the force was the Matron, Mathilde Hellwind herself, who sat upon a throne by the far end of the tent. By her side stood Alicia, while around were Hilmeria Darkscream and Chloe Voidwalker, the two highest present representatives of their clans.
“Always biding your time, daughter,” Mathilde said as Zerae entered. When it became clear the taunt fell flat, she continued, “anyway, let us start. Zerae, darling, how do you suggest we should proceed?”
Everyone turned to Zerae.
Not a harmless trap, but she saw it coming. “We need information about the enemy forces, so foremost, we need a detailed reconnaissance of the Palai fleet and a precise map of the coast to set up possible marching and escape routes.”
Mathilde clicked her tongue. “Alicia! Organize our troops into units to prepare for battle!”
She nodded. “Mother.”
“Zerae! Go greet our ally, Ur’Thul’Gar of the Storm, and tell him we are ready and at his disposal.”
Zerae’s face hardened to stone. “With all due respect, Matron, as the War Leader, I believe we need to take this more seriously.”
“Are you saying I do not know what I’m doing, my dear daughter? Are you saying I am wrong? That I’m stupid and clueless?”
Zerae swallowed the rage blasting up her throat and bowed. “No, Matron.”
“I am the commander on this battlefield, and I will not be disrespected. Now go do your mission.”
***
Zerae, Astril, and Leena left the camp to mount their beasts. Without a word, they departed for Stormshriek.
Astril was the first to break the awkward silence. “That didn’t go well.”
Leena nodded. “She is overconfident.”
Zerae gazed over her companions. Astril was uncharacteristically serious while Leena wasn’t stoned and looked normal. Despite enjoying how pretty they were, a sense of dread crept up her spine. She dismissed the feeling. “Mathilde isn’t stupid, so she has something up her sleeve.”
Astril laughed. “You wish.”
Zerae glowered at her. “Mathilde has been leading our clan since its inception. It wouldn’t be what it is without her.”
“She told you that, didn’t she?”
“What are you implying?”
“That perhaps we might take a little detour on the way to the Stormshithole or what-the-fuck-ever it’s called.”
Zerae raised her chin. “We are not disobeying the Matron!”
Leena cleared her throat. “It wouldn’t be disobeying her, but a small delay caused by say… unfortunate wind.”
Zerae threw them a murderous glare. “No.”
The view of Stormshriek soon opened before them. The fortress stood etched into a lone mountain dozen miles away from the shore, looking like the last tooth in a mouth of an old dragon. While fog surrounding the island beneath was thick to the point of only the shape of the fort being visible, Zerae still glimpsed the fortified port and a small town at the mountain’s foot.
They approached the fortress to land by what appeared to be a side entrance.
A man in a patched armor stepped toward them while four more flanked his sides. He measured them with a long leer. “Hello, girls.”
Girls? Who does he think he’s talking to? Zerae leapt off Belenus, her voice emotionless and harsh. “Tell Ur’Thul’Gar that Zerae Hellwind has arrived to see him, immediately.”
He pointed the corridor leading into the mountain. “Oohhh, the Sil Haen. Come along please.”
“Touch us or our mounts and die,” Zerae said and stepped forward. Astril and Leena followed. The place smelled of death and demons.
“Sure, this way.” He chuckled and put his hand on Zerae’s shoulder to guide her. She motioned to Astril, who drew her falchions with a spin, severing off the man’s head. The released a fountain of blood sprinkled Zerae’s golden hair with crimson.
“The fuck are you doing, you bitch?” one of his companions shouted.
Astril ran the blade through his gut, withdrew it and slashed the throat of the man next to him in an elegant spinning motion.
With a faint smile, Zerae pierced the two remaining men with a glare. “You lead us to your master, and you watch our mounts. If anyone touches them, you all die.”
They were pale as death, motionless.
“Now!” She shouted, and they jumped up within their skins. One ran into the cave while the other remained in the position.
He led them through the fortress where everything was made of stone and steel. The insides were undecorated, and the strong stench of demons suffocated their senses like a plague. They arrived at a large hall filled with tables, where a tall, black-bearded man in heavy plates sat on an overly decorated throne. Scattered through the room were thirty other men and women, which Zerae tried to remember.
The man on the throne ran his hand through his beard as they entered. “Greetings, War Leader.”
Zerae made the slightest of bows. “Ur’Thul’Gar of the Storm, I presume.”
“Indeed.” He smiled. “What can I do for you?”
She focused on keeping her tone steady and hard as steel. “Nothing. I am merely here to notify you of our arrival.”
He motioned her to a table. “Wouldn’t that be a shame to waste this historic moment? Men, bring wine! Come, War Leader, let us have a cup first.”
Zerae signaled Astril, Leena, and all three grabbed a chair. “I don’t drink though.”
Ur’Thul’Gar sat down opposite Zerae. “How was your journey?”
“Boring.”
If her attitude disturbed him, he showed no sign. “Have my men treated you appropriately? I apologize for any trouble they may have caused. They sometimes lack in discipline.”
Zerae scoffed. “I have seen to that. Are all your underlings this pathetic?”
He laughed. “You seem to
be every bit of the person you are rumored to be. As in any organization, we have men more and men less capable, but I assure you my captains will meet your standards. Anyway, enough pleasantries, please tell the Matron we welcome your arrival and have prepared a small gift for you. She is to bring five hundred of her finest warriors so we can set up our strategy. I will gather my captains and look forward to seeing you in five days.”
Zerae kept her expression blank. “Do you know anything about the enemy forces?”
He nodded. “Yes. The Palai fleet counts over twenty thousand men spread across over a hundred warships. They are well trained, and half of them are veterans. Their boats are made of the best wood one can get in Xona, so they will not catch on fire and will be resistant to aether. From the weaponry, their slings, catapults, and ballistae can target ground and airborne targets alike while their capital ship, Angry Judith, is said to carry a slingshot powerful enough to break a castle wall.”
Zerae arched her eyebrow. “That is an unexpectedly sober assessment—”
“For a demon prince?” His lips twirled. “The issue with religious fanatics is that they are easy to underestimate. Edward Collward did and where is his Slaver Union now? Killed like dogs.”
Zerae dug her nails to her knees not to show the surprise. She didn’t know Collward was a demon prince, until now. She had to keep an eye on Elizabeth and ensure the girl would never meet this man or any of the other princes. “To my surprise, we agree on something. I hope you have more than a few aces up your sleeve.”
“Indeed, I have. I wish you a pleasant journey back to the camp, War Leader.” He rose and offered Zerae his hand. She did not shake it, leaving the room instead.
***
They returned to the platform only to see a dozen men moving around their mounts, staring at them. Zerae shook her head. “You have no survival instinct, do you?”
“I… I’m sorry, milady… I tried to—” the man she left behind whimpered.
Zerae clicked her tongue. “Astril!”
Before her voice left the air, the nape of the pirate’s neck was opened by Astril’s falchion.
The others turned. “What the hell?”
Astril charged. Her swords were but a blur, turning the shouts of the men into screams, which became the deafening silence of death. Stepping over the corpses, Zerae, Astril, and Leena climbed onto their mounts. Zerae motioned ahead with her hand. “We head east.”
An hour of flight later, they saw the Palai fleet. Garnet sails with golden symbols filled the sea, painting it red in the evening sun. Astril wheezed. “He wasn’t kidding.”
Zerae made sure her face betrayed no emotion. “Leena, I will need you to reach Count Salazar of Xona through Limbo. I had already arranged with Sibyl to use her relationship with him for blackmail, so arrange me a meeting with him no further than in Alexandria.”
She nodded. “That will take a week, and I need to eat before I go.”
Zerae grunted. “We head back.”
They returned to the camp, and Zerae withdrew enough rations to feed a dozen men for Leena. She had no illusion about her eating everything, and Leena did not fail to prove her right. Patricia caught up with Zerae, holding a small pot in her hand. “I have made you some tea, War Leader.”
Zerae shook her head and motioned her to approach. Patricia placed a mug before her to fill it with the hot tea. Zerae grabbed the cup to breathe in the scent she loved but pierced her assistant with a glare, anyway. “I don’t remember telling you to come.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Who would make you tea if I wasn’t here?”
“Who will make me tea if you die?”
“I will be fine plus I owe you at least that little.”
Zerae sighed. “It’s been over ten years since I saved you. You can’t spend your whole life trying to repay me.”
Her assistant frowned. “I meant it when I told you I owe you my life.”
“You aren’t listening, Patricia. Everyone would have saved you were they in my position, so it’s not like I did anything special.”
“But everyone wasn’t there, you were, and you were there because you noticed I went missing and came to search for me yourself. Nobody else did, you did, and I’m not leaving your side until I repay you.”
Since she lost her strength to argue, Zerae sipped the tea, allowing the bitter taste to wash away her worries.
***
Upon the next morning, the matron gathered five hundred of their warriors and embarked with them onto the ships Ur’Thul’Gar had sent to pick them up. Zerae eyed the boats with suspicion, yet they seemed to stay afloat with more than just sheer willpower but had to admit the black sails with the symbol of lightning met her standards in terms of style.
Ur’Thul’Gar greeted them at the pier of the Stormshriek. This time, Zerae could examine the town beneath the fortress, seeing its crammed stone houses could be home to about ten thousand men. He spread his arms in the fakest greeting she had ever seen. “It is an honor to welcome you to my humble home, my champions.”
Mathilde made a slight bow. “The honor is ours, pirate lord.”
Zerae sneered, hoping nobody noticed. Pathetic.
Ur’Thul’Gar motioned behind himself. “We can exchange our pleasantries later. For now, let us head straight to the reason I had asked you to bring your finest warriors. Please follow me.” He led the way through the citadel of stone and steel where the five hundred Sil Haen that followed him looked out of place.
They entered a large cavern deep within the fortress where he climbed onto a construction by the side. “The armies of Palai have come to destroy us, our people, our way of life, and our legacies. That must not happen, not to me, not to you, not to my subordinates, not to your sisters. To defend the very basis of our existence, I have searched for help, I have searched for resources, and I have searched for power. Behold!” He spread his arms and crystals surrounding the cavern lit up. Scattered across the hall lay hundreds of pens built over pools. “Each of these pools contains a Sea Drake, one ready to be ridden by you.”
Mathilde bowed. “You are most generous. Why don’t you try one first, Zerae?”
So… on the one hand, I am not the leader of the force, but I also have to do all the tasks of the leader. Responsibility without power. Great. Zerae eyed the pens, searching for the one containing the largest pool. She saw a massive body covered by scales weave over the water’s surface before sinking again. Are sea drakes intelligent? I guess I will need to find out.
As she approached, she noticed the sea drakes popped their scaly heads with mouths full of teeth out of the water, eyeing her as a delicious treat.
Ur’Thul’Gar’s men seemed hesitant when watching her walk to the pen she chose, proving her right in her decision. One of the men guarding the cage offered Zerae a bucket of rotten meat.
She pierced him with a stare that stopped him before he could speak. “Open.”
The men looked like they wanted to protest, but Zerae’s stone hard face did not leave space for discussion. Carefully, the men unlocked the cage and started opening it. When they were halfway through, the drake shot out of the water to catch one into its jaws. The pirate screamed. The drake retreated beneath the water’s surface in an instant, taking the man with him.
Zerae stood motionless. The second man finished flipping the cage and retreated into the distance. She spat into the water. Soon afterward, head of the drake came out, large as she was. Blood dripped from its jaws while its eyes shone with hunger and bloodlust. Zerae didn’t move. The drake roared into her face, spraying her with blood and saliva.
She stopped herself from recoiling from the horrendous stench and raised an eyebrow instead. “Are you done?”
The drake huffed and submerged. Zerae waited, motionless, clenching her muscles to unleash every bit of their strength, every bit of her aether, in one burst of power. While she lacked any stamina, she had one technique she could use. The move that made her the War Leader. The
drake shot out of the water, fast and lethal. Zerae sidestepped the attack, used all her aether and drew her blade into an elegant swing. The sword boomed through the air in a blur, severing the snake’s head. It flew into the cavern, sliding on the stone floor in its blood while the headless body squirmed before going lifeless, splashing all around her in crimson. The entire cavern fell silent.
All her muscles burned with strain while she was panting, her aether gone. Zerae sheathed her executioner sword. The reason she used a blade without a tip was not to get it stuck in the ground after using this move. She conjured a vicious smile to hide her drumming heart and walked to the next pen. “Open.”
The nearby men didn’t dare oppose her and did as she bid.
While they worked, she motioned Astril their secret signal to save her if she needed to. She was out of aether, so if this drake were to attack her, she would be eaten if Astril wouldn’t save her. When she steadied her breath and straightened her posture, Zerae stomped onto the stone floor. “Come out!”
The sea drake came out of the water, its eyes wide with terror. Zerae’s muscles unclenched, the pressure falling from her heart. She made half-a-step backward. “Get down!”
The drake weaved sideways and put itself on the ground in front of her. Zerae grabbed it by a horn and swung herself up to sit behind its head, ignoring the slime that covered its body and stained her pants and coat.
She clenched her legs, directing the drake to slither forward, stopping before Mathilde. Zerae pulled on its horn to make the sea drake rear up. She granted them all a victorious smile before she motioned the snake to get down. She leapt off its back and waved it off with her hand, making the drake retreat into the pond of its pen.
Mathilde scoffed. “As expected of my daughter.”
Zero recognition, as always. Zerae swallowed the stinging of pain creeping up her throat and bowed. “Matron.”
